What are fake wedding cakes

January and February peak for wedding cake bookings in Ireland especially in Dublin. A question many couples are asking, What is a Fake Wedding Cake and Should I get one?

Many wedding cakes can have a fake or a “dummy” tier. This can be either one or more tiers of the wedding cake. For example for a small wedding, most of the cake can be dummy, and the top or middle tier can be real cake.

What is Fake Wedding Cake Made Out Of?

Fake tiers also known as Faux or “dummy” are white Styrofoam mass shaped like a tier of a cake. They came on all shapes and sizes, and they are frosted with buttercream or sugar fondant and then decorated in line with the rest of the wedding cake theme.

Are Wedding Cakes with Fake Dummy Tiers Cheaper?

There is a myth that dummy wedding cakes are cheaper than real cakes. However, in our experience a fake tier will cost about 80% of the real cake, so there is a small saving of 20% in having a fake tier.

However, the rest of the cake will still be full cost.

Let’s say if you are planning to buy a 2 tier cake that costs you €300, and you would like to add a third small tier. Let’s say the small tier would cost €70, but a fake tier could cost you €56.

So the 3 tier cake price difference would be – €370 for real cake and €356 for 2 real cake and 1 fake tier.

Short answer to the question “are fake wedding cakes cheaper?” is, not really. The cost of the Styrofoam tier with delivery can cost the same as flour, eggs and butter to make the tier. However, there is a saving in the baking, electricity, time of making the cake.

However, the fake cake tier need to be decorated just like the rest of the cake and so decorating wise, there is no real saving to the baker.

Why Have A Fake Wedding Cake?

Some couples want to have a big cake, even if the wedding party is not so big itself. So in that case a fake tier or two can be a real option. However, as we said cost wise, it doesn’t really make much of a difference.

Certain cake styles and assembly can be easier with a dummy tier. Let’s say very high cakes, can have dummy tiers which can be stronger in base support.

Some couples like to keep their cake intact and serve separate cake slices instead. In that case the wedding cake can display intricate decoration details. And some details are very difficult to place on a real cake but possible with a fake cake.

And sometimes, wedding are held at very obscure location with limited access, in that case again a fake wedding cake can be ideal.

A word of caution though Styrofoam whilst a recyclable material is not recycled. Polystyrene contains 95% air making it not cost effective to store or ship for recycling. And because it is so porous, it gets contaminated with food and drink making it further unsuitable for recycling.

Thus our thoughts are, if you are really stuck, then yes fake cake tier can be a good idea. Does it save you money? Not really. Is it environmentally friendly? No.

Our suggestion is that, if you do want a cake with a good stand out, get a skinny but tall cake, and get a good tall cake stand. It will make a significant different to your cake.

Boho style wedding cakes are very popular at the moment, where even small cakes are extended upwards and decorated with rustic floral arrangements.

You can get a beautiful cake without using fake cake tiers. But as always, the choice is yours, it is your wedding cake and you should get your dream wedding cake. So we are committed working with you to achieve that.